SOUTHEAST ASIAN BLOGGERS NETWORK

Saturday, December 08, 2007

The 2007 Edition of the Corruption Perception Index was released by Transparency International last Thursday (06 Dec). Based on our blog post here of the 2006 Edition; do you think your country’s corruption problems improved?

Here's the ranking of the most corrupt countries in Southeast Asia 0f 2007from top(the least corrupt)to bottom(the most corrupt);

SE Asian Rank / Country / CPI Score

10.Singapore9.3-- The Lion City is again (and of course) the least corrupt of all the nations in our region. Although their score went down 0.1 point, their world ranking went up from 5th to 4th and shares the league with Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and Sweden.*Majulah Singapura!*9.Malaysia5.1-- The nation of the rainforest showed us how to do it. Raise the government employee’s pay to avoid temptations. Malaysia ranked No.43 in the world together with South Korea.

8.Thailand3.3-- Our score went down 0.3 but our world ranking improved from 108th to 84th. I really don’t know where the statistics are coming from. It certainly didn’t come from our police. Our Police force is one of the strictest and rigorously checked in the region and I am very proud of them. The corruption must be coming from somewhere else.

7. Vietnam and East Timor2.6-- No changes in the scores and ranking for Vietnam and East Timor this year. But Laos dropped out!

5. The Philippines2.5--No change in score at 2.5 and their world ranking went down to 131st. The current president’s popularity is the lowest since Marcos. Why do they ask each and every elected leader to step down – instead of working together? Too much precious time is wasted.The Philippines shares the spot with Libya, Yemen and Iran.

4. Indonesia2.3--As usual, corruption surveys like these are never kind to Indonesia. The score went down 0.1 points and they ranked 143rd in the world. What does Southeast Asia’s biggest economy doing wrong?

3. Cambodia2.0-- I took a little pause when I was preparing this list feeling a little hopeless. But no – we shouldn’t give up on Cambodia. One of these days, they’re gonna change for the better so fast…we wouldn’t know what hit us.

2. Laos1.9-- What happened? Laos went down from 6th to 2nd in SE Asia. Their score went down with a whopping 0.7 points! Foreign assistance from Vietnam, Thailand and Japan is going to somebody's pocket. Ha!

1. Burma1.4-- Burma, whew! What can I say?...They are on the bottom list in the world with Iraq and Somalia(the 2 collapsed states). Is it really that bad in Burma?*sigh*

What’s your view? Since CPI scores are based mainly on citizen’s perceptions, do you think these ranking reflects your own opinion?

If it does, where does corruption occur in your country?

Share it.

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**Again, Brunei is not on the index again. Brunei is Brunei. They belong to another category. Long live the Sultan!

Well, you can't argue with corruption in the Philippines when our congresspeople and governors where caught redhanded receiving money from the palace. (Which later led to denial... which later led to blaming... which later led to forgetting) Honestly, I think the reason why the Philippines ranks high is because almost everybody leaves by a "Forgive and Forget" policy and sometimes even an "Out of sight, out of mind" policy. Leading those in power (even those judged guilty in the courts for graft and corruption) to run time and time again for office (and win). It's also related to the "bata-bata" policy wherein the politicians take "care" of the families around them despite their corruption and the "utang na loob" where people vote for them out of a sense of them owing the politician something.

"Why do they ask each and every elected leader to step down – instead of working together? Too much precious time is wasted."

Don't ask me, ask the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines and the many Catholics in this country. (They claim that the Philippines is the only "Christian" country in Asia, but they don't act like one. Heck, Pope John Paul II said Catholics should call and refer to themselves as "Catholic" not as "Christian", so it is more appropriate as "The only Catholic dominated country in Asia". I'd rather call S. Korea as the only Christian dominated country in Asia.)

They do not really live up to the teachings of the Christian and Catholic Bible. It is simple, show respect to the government especially the Head of State. "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's" means paying taxes and respecting the government. But what do we get? Rallies. Anti-Government Rallies.

Now before anyone say I am a supporter of PGMA, well, you are utterly wrong. I never supported PGMA during her illegal takeover of former President Ejercito Estrada and never supported her during her campaign.

BUT, read this, BUT, I support her now because she is the duely ELECTED President.

To all the Catholics, READ your BIBLE! And to those Christians who are bringing shame to all the other Christians, WAKE UP!

God/Jesus said, governments were appointed by Him. He said that His mind is not our mind. Whatever is His reasons are for appointing these people into our governments, it is always for the good of all or we are simply REAPING what we SOW.

PEOPLE POWER was NEVER the solution. Once is ENOUGH. PP2, PP3, and all other People Power since the first are illegal and will only cause more hardship to this country than any good.

And com'on people, VOTE WISELY!! Don't be stupid by voting them and then ousting them. THIS IS NOT A FREAKING GAME.